This big announcement says 54,900 public workers are getting their loans forgiven.
“Four years ago, we promised to fix the broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program for America’s teachers, nurses, first responders, and other public workers. I’m proud to say we delivered,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona shared.
This isn’t a handout. PSLF is a program created by law that people qualify for by meeting the requirements.
Eliot said:
This isn’t a handout. PSLF is a program created by law that people qualify for by meeting the requirements.
Exactly. These workers agreed to lower-paying public jobs and made 10 years of payments to qualify. It was part of the deal when they took the loans. Then the system failed them for years. Fixing this is just delivering on a promise made a long time ago.
It’s no more of a handout than benefits for military personnel or government officials.
Addison said:
It’s no more of a handout than benefits for military personnel or government officials.
Breaking news: homeowners are getting a ‘handout’ through the mortgage interest deduction again this year. Stay tuned!
Good for them. I don’t think PSLF counts as a ‘handout.’ But what exactly do they mean by ‘fixing the program’?
Basil said:
Good for them. I don’t think PSLF counts as a ‘handout.’ But what exactly do they mean by ‘fixing the program’?
The program was a mess. It took my wife 17 years to get her 120 qualifying payments done. There was so much red tape, and it was hard to figure out the rules. Biden cut through the confusion and made it work better.
@Hero
I’m in a similar boat. I made 10 years of payments, but because of confusion and bad communication, I’m still 18 payments short. It’s a good program, but it’s so hard to get clear answers.
Basil said:
@Hero
What were the biggest hurdles you faced? I’m curious.
For years, we didn’t even know about PSLF, so those payments didn’t count. Even small paperwork errors could get you denied. And if you needed info, good luck—it was impossible to get help.
@Hero
That’s wild. I have a friend who had $300k forgiven, and she said the process was super smooth. Weird how it’s so different for people.
Basil said:
@Hero
That’s wild. I have a friend who had $300k forgiven, and she said the process was super smooth. Weird how it’s so different for people.
It depends. The program started in 2007, so early forgiveness cases were rare. You needed to work in qualifying jobs right after school and consolidate your loans right away. Most people weren’t in that position.
Harmon said:
@Hero
Actually, payments made before signing up could count under certain conditions.
That might be true now, but back then, we were told the opposite.
Harmon said:
@Hero
Actually, payments made before signing up could count under certain conditions.
That might be true now, but back then, we were told the opposite.
You’re technically allowed to backdate, but getting HR or someone to sign off on years of employment can be a nightmare.
Harmon said:
@Hero
Actually, payments made before signing up could count under certain conditions.
That might be true now, but back then, we were told the opposite.
It’s all about how the payments are counted. Biden simplified this, though.
Basil said:
Good for them. I don’t think PSLF counts as a ‘handout.’ But what exactly do they mean by ‘fixing the program’?
That’s typical spin from that news site.
I’ve been calling about missing payments since last year. Saying they ‘fixed the system’ doesn’t seem true for those of us still stuck.
Nice to hear about forgiveness, but not everyone can qualify for PSLF.
Zev said:
Nice to hear about forgiveness, but not everyone can qualify for PSLF.
I can’t qualify because my government job limits how many hours I can work. It’s frustrating.